Three ringers, one winger


    Last entry, I challenged readers to identify the real Hino or Hinos among a group of Cuban trucks all wearing the winged emblem of the Japanese manufacturer (to see the quiz, click here).

    The answers:

     Truck C: Nope. The styling has a bit of a Japanese look, and the cabover design certainly is in keeping with modern Hinos. But this blue hauler is a product of Czech manufacturer Avia. Founded in 1919 as an aircraft and engine builder, Avia expanded to trucks after the Second World War. Smart-looking and practical, this is an Avia A31. The model was introduced in 1983 as an update to the Avia A30, itself a variant of the Renault-Saviem SG-4 Super Galion built under licence.Avia was taken over by Korea's now-defunct Daewoo in 1995 and today is a unit of India's Ashok Leyland.


    Truck A: Nope again. I saw this compact school bus in Havana. I'm not certain of its make (though I know it's no Hino) but I suspect it's a Girón VI, from a factory in Cuba that built buses under licence from Ikarus of Hungary between the 1970s and 1990s. If I'm wrong, I'm sure someone will tell me.



   Truck D: You didn't think this was a Hino, did you? North Americans might look at that face and think International Harvester. Truck-watchers from other parts of the world, however, will know this well-turned-out dump truck is a Russian ZIL 130. Some 3.4 million 130s were built at a factory near Moscow between 1964 and the 1990s. Like a larger Toyota pickup, the ZIL 130 is renowned for being nearly indestructible. It's a common sight across Cuba.


     Truck B: Hello Hino! Yes, as a reader points out, this one looks Russian, not Japanese. Or maybe a fairly recent issue from KrAZ, maker of bruiser trucks in Ukraine. But it's all Hino, and appears similar to this Hino EB300 in the Philippines (asking price: 280,000 pesos, the equivalent of $6,661.67 Cdn.). I'm thinking it dates from the 1970s. I'm also thinking that Philippines Hino is one KrAZy deal.

Comments

paul said…
Hi,Rob--as you can see I'm finally using my name in the comments. Now to speak: I just saw your post about the IFA W50 you mistook for a Hino. Well,I did the same thing with the Avia--it looked like the emblem belonged there (not like on the Zil and the Giron). I was deceived by the appearance of the real Hino--it resembled a KrAZ from an earlier post.Anyway,keep up the good work. Signed, "a reader" (haha)
November 6, 2011 at 5:21 PM
Caristas said…
Thanks Paul. I was fooled by the Avia too (as well as by the IFA). Both look like they SHOULD be Hinos. Took some sussing to ID the Avia, I can tell you.
November 8, 2011 at 8:37 PM
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